HELENA — The Helena Regional Airport wants to see more airline and flight options in 2026, but officials say a big challenge right now is that they're limited in what is available.
“Whatever we can do to improve this place, I think it's just more people kind of understand it's a great resource, right?” said Helena resident Brian Elliott.
Across the industry, airlines are short on the number of planes they have. This comes as they’re retiring 50-seat smaller jets, moving to 76-seat larger jets, as it’s more efficient and cost-effective.
Airport Director Jeff Wadekamper says it will be beneficial to Helena, expanding from the 125,000 outbound seats they currently offer.
“In terms of seats, we have more seats now than we've ever had,” Wadekamper exclaimed. “In 2026, we're gonna have just over 136,000 outbound seats.”
The Helena Regional Airport has service from 3 airlines: Alaska, Delta, and United, with five daily outbound flights to Seattle, Salt Lake, and Denver.
Wadekamper says their goal is to bring more flight options for travelers, both additional times and new destinations.
“Expand air service in any way that we possibly can where it makes sense and where it's possible,” Wadekamper stated. “We're continually looking at options to do that, working with the various airlines.”
As airlines add additional larger crafts to their fleet this year, Wadekamper says he’s hopeful some of those planes can be assigned to Helena.
Wadekamper would also like to see the bringing back a flight to Minneapolis, and adding other major hubs like Chicago or Dallas.
“The area is growing, we fill up airplanes here, we know the demand is there.”
And Helena residents agree…
“More options and cheaper flights, and that way more people would want to leave out of Helena and fly into Helena if you have those options,” said Helena resident Jason Seyler.
“I think more flights, more access is good for everybody, right?” Elliot said. “It's good for business, good for tourism, it's good for this community.”
Wadekamper says that more seats and flights could also mean that airfare costs could go down with time, as long as those flights fill up.
“If they fly out of here, even if it costs them a little bit more,” Wadekamper said, “I guess think of it as that’s your investment into getting better airline service into our future.”
